18. In 1663 the town of Kingston was attacked and destroyed by the
Indians. Sixty-five of the inhabitants were tomahawked or carried
into captivity. To punish this outrage a strong force was sent from
New Amsterdam. The Indians fled to the woods; but the Dutch soldiers
pursued them to their villages, burned their wigwams, and killed every
warrior who could be overtaken. In May of 1664 a treaty of peace was
concluded.
19. Governor Stuyvesant had great difficulty in defending his province
against the claims of other nations. Discord at home added to his
embarrassments. For many years the Dutch had witnessed the growth and
prosperity of the English colonies. Boston had outgrown New Amsterdam.
The schools of Massachusetts and Connecticut flourished; the academy
on Manhattan, after a sickly career of two years, was discontinued. In
New Netherland heavy taxes were levied for the support of the poor; New
England had no poor. The Dutch attributed their own want of thrift to
the mismanagement of the West India Company.
[Sidenote: =The English Conquest.=]
20. On the 12th of March, 1664, the duke of York received from Charles
II. a patent for the whole country between the Connecticut and the
Delaware. The duke made haste to secure his territory. An English
squadron was immediately sent to America. On the 28th of August the
fleet anchored before New Amsterdam. Governor Stuyvesant convened the
Dutch council, and exhorted them to rouse to action and fight. Some one
replied that the West India Company _was not worth fighting for_. The
brave old man was forced to sign the capitulation; and on the 8th of
September, 1664, New Netherland ceased to exist.
21. The English flag was hoisted over the fort and town, and the name
of NEW YORK was substituted for New Amsterdam. The remaining Swedish
and Dutch settlements soon capitulated. The supremacy of Great Britain
in America was finally established. From Maine to Georgia, every mile
of the American coast was under the flag of England.
CHAPTER XV.
NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH.
[Sidenote: =English Governors.=]
The Dutch had surrendered themselves to the English government in the
hope of obtaining civil liberty. But it was a poor sort of liberty that
any province was likely to receive from Charles II. The promised rights
of the people were evaded and withheld. The old titles by which the
Dutch farmers held their lands were annulled. The people were obliged
to accept new deeds from the English governor, and to pay him therefor
large sums of money.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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